ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug 31 (NNN-PPI) – A bus carrying 24 passengers, fall into a river in Kohistan district of Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing all on board, a senior police officer said.
The drowned, including 15 men, five women and four children, were close-knit relatives, who were on their way back home, after attending some family functions, District Police Officer, Raja Abdul Saboor, said.
The accident happened on Friday night, in a remote area of the district, but police and rescue teams got to know about it after several hours, due to unavailability of communication facilities in the area.
The bus was on its way to a remote area from district headquarters of Dassu, when it fell into the river in Kundian, while crossing a wooden bridge, which could not bear its weight and collapsed into the gushing water.
“When police and rescue teams reached the accident site, it was already dark, and the search operation was a challenge as the remote area does not have lights or other facilities, so the rescue process was delayed till morning,” Saboor said.
Delayed rescue work and hindrance in the search operation caused by the darkness of night aggravated the depth of the tragedy, due to which all people on board were killed, he observed.
Ten bodies have been recovered, while the search for the others is underway, and the rescue operation is likely to be concluded by afternoon, as local volunteers are also joining the rescue teams to speed up the operation.
The police officer said, some of the wooden bridges in the district are in a dilapidated condition, and recent rains have made their condition even worse, making them risky for the locals, who have no choice but to use them to cross the river.– NNN-PPI
